Jack Kerouac reads from ‘On The Road’, 1959

[youtube]http://youtu.be/QzCF6hgEfto[/youtube]

Published in 1957 by Viking, On The Road would quickly become a cornerstone work of the Beat Generation and the bible of the American counterculture.

Here is Kerouac appearing on the Steve Allen Show in 1959.

First we get a nice background of the book’s history from Kerouac:

7 years on the road,
3 weeks to write,
and that it was written on a continous piece of teletype paper.

Then Kerouac gets reading and Steve Allen gets playing, providing a stellar piano accompaniment.

Reading from a novel written “in a form that reflected the improvisational fluidity of jazz“ with Allen and company playing backup is easily worth the five minutes.

First Edition – selection of available copies